Steam does not provide installers for games, this means that whatever game you want, needs to be 100% functional and already be parsed/deployed/installed by steam on your hard drive.
That game needs to be DRM free, meaning that it has an executable available that can be launched without steam running or requiring any sort of authentication or input from the steam servers/services before being able to launch, play or even interact with the menus
So only the DRM free games will remain, and only the installed ones at that. Anything that wasn’t will be lost to the wind the moment the distribution service or storage (yours or theirs) bits the dust…
installers for games are usually just a script that unzips the game and makes some shortcuts. Steam installs all your games in a standard way in a folder of your choice. You can straight up copy that folder to another computer. You can use another launcher and just play your games, there are already many that can read steam’s standardized format. I’ve done it multiple times to avoid redownloading my library
It depends how steam sunsets their DRM, but yes - obviously if a game has 3rd party DRM, that third party is in control. Steam could choose a user hostile way to sunset their own DRM, but they could release ways to deactivate it
DRM is bad, steam provides an easy way for developers to use steam DRM, and it’s generally less user hostile than most DRM. To me, this seems like harm reduction
Ultimately, it’s not up to steam what, if any, DRM a game uses. They manage their in house offering, but the developer doesn’t have to use it if they don’t want to
I don’t know if it’s a clause but Gabe said it at one point. Is that legally binding though? It wouldn’t surprise me one bit that whatever VC eventually buys steam and then runs it into the ground would have no problem changing the user agreement to whatever suited them…
I think I read in the steam agreement itself - I could be wrong, but I generally have a source tagged to my knowledge, and the knowledge is tagged as a direct quote from the document
And yes, if a VC buys out steam I’d be horrified, but it’s structurally resistant to that. It’s largely employee owned and heavily employee managed, their handbook helped me understand the concept of how employee owned businesses could be the answer to many of society’s problems
You don’t need to ever interact with Galaxy to play your games, not even to download the offline installer. And the download option is not hidden on the website.
Okay, sure, when given the fps camera, closest things to the camera are getting noticed. Duh?
But all things considered, who cares about a single goblin toe? Im much more scarred about the thongs happening in nearby shed. Bleach please.
But at that scale there’s always gonna be compromises. Duh. Does somebody actually expect full fidelity between 3rd person and closeups all the time? Might be showing my age but I sure don’t. What kind of madnes is that?
Games don’t need the show everything, leave a bit to imagination. Sure visuals ate cool, but don’t let that be all there is to it.
I’m pretty sure some of them are objectively broken. I had a mission where the mission givers partner was seeing someone else and I had to figure out who. The process of figuring out who the person was was pretty cool. Outside of some vague physical traits my leading clue was the mystery persons partners job position. I had to look up every restaurant, break into every single restaurant, find all the people who worked that position, find where they live, break into their apartments to find who their partner was and if they match who I’m looking for.
Eventually I was 99% sure I got the right person, but I needed proof they were seeing each other. I combed their entire apartment, found nothing. I combed the partners apartment, found nothing. I checked their workplaces, found nothing. I tailed both of them the entire day, still found nothing. I even checked their mailboxes and found nothing. I literally ran out of ideas how to solve the case because I found nothing.
Turned me away from the game because I got this cool investigation with some really out the box thinking, and then didn’t get rewarded because I didn’t find that last piece of information.
The one holdout among the console makers is Nintendo, whose PC strategy is still to threaten fan projects with lawsuits. Perhaps I do not have to hand it to Nintendo for this, but as a result of its obstinance, the Switch is the only console I’d consider buying as a PC gamer. Nintendo remains a one-of-a-kind gaming company, whereas Xbox and PlayStation feel less and less distinguishable from gaming at large—aka PC gaming.
I’m not sure about this analysis of the Switch’s success. The “lawsuit” argument is pretty irrelevant; the console would sell regardless of whether emulation existed (as it has, for most of the big titles and for much of the console’s life). I think the “one-of-a-kind” argument is accurate, but I’d also suggest that the very wide library of games is a major reason why Nintendo has performed so well in this generation. The Switch appeals to almost every single type of gamer - there is so much variety there. Additionally, the portability is clear point of difference: for many, the Switch is more like a handheld that they can occasionally play on the TV, rather than a traditional home console. And finally, the Switch is just a more affordable option and that has mattered a lot since 2020.
Most people now have the console they prefer, and it’s lasting them. They don’t necessarily need new consoles. This is true EVEN if that console is a PS4, Xbox One, or Switch. They don’t get everything, but a surprising number of major releases still come to all those destinations.
It’s still nicely convenient to have consoles for less setup and configuration. Some people manage really complex problems for their work and home projects already - a desktop computer may be beyond their tolerance.
I’ve never been into this pc vs console cringe fest of an argument. I’ve always been a pc gamer, but guess what, some exclusives only come to consoles. If I want to play that exclusive enough and I have expendable cash, I’ll buy it. I still prefer to play on pc over any of the consoles, but a ps5 is a solid system.
I haven’t had a gaming-capable PC for about a decade and I’m very happy with my PS5 (and the PS4 before it). Sony bringing exclusives to PC don’t feel like the end times as it’s just a way for them to make more money.
I’m genuinely glad that PC players will get to experience some of the great games that have been on the PS5 in the last few years.
It’s literally brave of you to come to this community and this thread and say that you love your console. And then to express positivity for PC users! You are exactly what we need more of in gaming.
My ghost will haunt GoG’s corporate offices until they relent and transfer my games to the person who’s name I keep creepily spelling with frost on their mirrors & windows.
I guess my only takeaway is that if I want to protect my IP then anyone who has access to the software should be required to sign a terms & agreement that specifically written to prevent this kind of thing, regardless IANAL, but i’m pretty sure this is all legal according to copyright law. The engine and therefore the code is different, the assets are custom and slightly different. If this were a trademark or patent related case then there might be a something else to go on.
Yep. I have a friend who works there, well I guess he use to. Get ready for a wave of shitty videogames all written and designed by AI in the coming years.
Not just the U.S.
Avalanche Studios has their headquarters in Sweden and they’re closing their studio in Canada (per this article). Additionally, Phoenix Labs (Dauntless & Fae Farm) is a Canadian game developer and they just let go of a significant number of developers and cancelled all future projects (about 3 weeks ago): pcgamer.com/…/dauntless-developer-phoenix-labs-la…
While Microsoft was the one shutting down multiple Game Developers last month, those studios are also based all over:
Tango Gameworks - Japan
Alpha Dog Games - Canada
Arkane Studios - (Headquarters in France, but shutting down their Studio in the U.S.)
Roundhouse Studios - U.S.
pcgamer.com
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